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Gasoline RBOB September 2012 (RBU12)

3.1056s+0.0230 (+0.75%) 7:43P EDT (NYMEX)
Commodity Price Quote as of Wednesday, May 22nd, 0238 View Help

Contract Specifications

Symbol RB
Name Gasoline Blendstock New York Harbor [RBOB] (RB)
Exchange NYMEX
Trading Months January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December (F, G, H, J, K, M, N, Q, U, V, X, Z)
Trading Unit 42,000 gallons
Tick Size $0.0001 (0.01 cent) per gallon ($4.20 per contract)
Daily Limit $0.25 per gallon ($10,500 per contract)
Trading Hours 5:00p.m. - 4:15p.m. (Sun-Fri) (RTH 8:00a.m. - 1:30p.m.) CST
Last Trading Day Trading terminates at the close of business on the last business day of the month preceding the delivery month
Value of one futures unit $42,000
Value of one options unit $42,000

CRB Yearbook Description

Gasoline is a complex mixture of hundreds of lighter liquid hydrocarbons and is used chiefly as a fuel for internal-combustion engines. Petroleum crude, or crude oil, is still the most economical source of gasoline with refineries turning more than half of every barrel of crude oil into gasoline. The three basic steps to all refining operations are the separation process (separating crude oil into various chemical components), conversion process (breaking the chemicals down into molecules called hydrocarbons), and treatment process (transforming and combining hydrocarbon molecules and other additives). Another process, called hydro treating, removes a significant amount of sulfur from finished gasoline as is currently required by the state of California.

Octane is a measure of a gasoline's ability to resist pinging or knocking noise from an engine. Most gasoline stations offer three octane grades of unleaded fuel - regular at 87 (R+M)/2, mid-grade at 89 (R+M)/2, and premium at 93 (R+M)/2. Additional refining steps are needed to increase the octane, which increases the retail price. This does not make the gasoline any cleaner or better, but yields a different blend of hydrocarbons that burn more slowly.

In an attempt to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions from internal combustion engines, Congress in 1990 amended the Clean Air Act to mandate the addition of ethanol to gasoline. Some 2 billion gallons of ethanol are now added to gasoline each year in the U.S. The most common blend is E10, which contains 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. Auto manufacturers have approved that mixture for use in all U.S. vehicles. Ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel produced by fermenting and distilling crops such as corn, barley, wheat and sugar.

Unleaded gasoline futures and options trade at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The NYMEX gasoline futures contract calls for the delivery of 1,000 barrels (42,000 gallons) of unleaded gasoline in the New York harbor and is priced in terms of dollars and cents per gallon.

Prices - NYMEX gasoline futures prices in early 2011 extended the rally that began in 2010 and posted a new 3-year high of $3.48 per gallon in April 2011. Gasoline prices fell during the remainder of the year but still closed 2011 up 10.5% at $2.6863 per gallon.

The average monthly retail price of regular unleaded gasoline in 2011 (through November) rose +26.5% yr/yr to $3.52 per gallon. The average monthly retail price of unleaded premium motor gasoline in the U.S. in 2011 (through November) rose +24.5% to $3.79 per gallon. The average monthly refiner price of finished aviation gasoline to end users in 2011 (through September) rose +25.9% yr/yr to $3.81 per gallon.

Supply - U.S. production of gasoline in 2011 (through November, annualized) fell -0.3% yr/yr to 9.025 million barrels per day. Gasoline stocks in October of 2011 were 59.290 million barrels, down from 63.257 million barrels in December of 2010.

Demand - U.S. consumption of finished motor gasoline in 2011 (through November, annualized) fell -2.7% yr/yr to 8.750 million barrels per day, below 2007's record high of 9.284 million barrels per day.

Articles from the Commodity Research Bureau (CRB) Commodity Yearbook. The single most comprehensive source of commodity and futures market information available, the Yearbook is the book of record of the Commodity Research Bureau, which is, in turn, the organization of record for the commodity industry itself. Its sources - reports from governments, private industries, and trade and industrial associations - are authoritative, and its historical scope is second to none. Additional information can be found at www.crbyearbook.com.
More commodity data from Commodity Research Bureau.